Navy SEALs Want to Protect Their Identity Following UBL Kill
By Justin Fishel
Created 2011-05-12 16:04

Members of Navy SEAL team 6, the Special Operations unit responsible for killing Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden in Pakistan last Sunday, have expressed concerns about their safety and the safety of their families now that details of the mission have been made public.

Speaking to Marines at Camp Lejeune Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the concerns were expressed to him directly a week ago when he met with members of the unit to congratulate them on their mission. Gates said the SEALs were mainly focused on their families and worried they could be subject to retaliatory attacks.

The original plan, Gates said, was to protect their identities completely by not releasing any information about the raid. "Frankly, a week ago Sunday in the Situation Room we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin Laden. That all fell apart on Monday, the next day."

Rather than keeping the details secret, intelligence officials and senior administration officials briefed members of the press. It quickly leaked out that the mission was performed by 24 members of the elite and classified counterterrorism SEAL squadron, known as SEAL team 6. Despite that leak, Gates says the government continues to protect their identities.

"There has been a consistent and effective effort to protect the identity of those that participated in the raid and I think that that has to continue." Gates added that the Pentagon is looking at ways to "pump up" their security even more.

Protecting servicemembers is also a major reason that Secretary Gates opposes the release of bin Laden's death photos. He said Thursday there is a legitimate concern among Obama's inner circle, to include Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, that if the photos got out they would be photoshopped in a way that could further inflame radical extremists and those sympathetic to bin Laden....

You know the types, unauthorized to speak on condition of anonymity, they are either going to keep a low profile & relocate, or change identities altogether. BTW, about lawyers questioning the legality of the operation: WRONG! What bin laden did was illegal the world over, why didn't they go afterhim? Absent minded greedy idiots!

I'm against to release the picture of Bin Laden who died in compound and don't want to see either.

I'm with you. I am against releasing the pictures. It just isn't necessary. It just feeds into some sick need to see the gore. We have DNA evidence that confirms his death. Release of pictures are not needed, and to demand that which has already been denied is nothing more than an attempt of a Conservative group to fill an anti-Obama administration agenda.

Yes, the family members of SEALs and other special ops teams are targeted. Sometimes it's just harassing phone calls, threatening emails, and vandalism.

The military is not supposed to confirm or deny any mission related information.

Once the sub pulls out, the wives of submarine crews don't know where their husbands are, or far how long they'll be gone. They don't know what they do while they're gone.

Breaches of security are very serious offenses in the military.

I concur wholeheartedly. SEALs and others who do clandestine work must keep their identities protected. For example, they have duplicate personnel files - one as a Sailor and the other as a SEAL. Those special files are kept locked up differently to keep prying eyes out. Awards and medals for specific operations are never published and even the write-up citation is "missing" the details.

Today, it is even harder to keep photos from surfacing because of phone cameras and the like on ships. They are totally banned from submarines and high-security installations.

One tour of active duty I was on, I carried classified data in an unmarked briefcase that never left my side and wore "civilian clothing" while traveling overseas. Changed into my uniform after arriving on bases.

Other countries like Russia, China, North Korea would love to get any bit of intelligence. Kidnappings do still happen. We are already concerned as to the whereabouts of the helo tail that was taken by Pakistan.

I concur wholeheartedly. SEALs and others who do clandestine work must keep their identities protected. For example, they have duplicate personnel files - one as a Sailor and the other as a SEAL. Those special files are kept locked up differently to keep prying eyes out. Awards and medals for specific operations are never published and even the write-up citation is "missing" the details.

Today, it is even harder to keep photos from surfacing because of phone cameras and the like on ships. They are totally banned from submarines and high-security installations.

One tour of active duty I was on, I carried classified data in an unmarked briefcase that never left my side and wore "civilian clothing" while traveling overseas. Changed into my uniform after arriving on bases.

Other countries like Russia, China, North Korea would love to get any bit of intelligence. Kidnappings do still happen. We are already concerned as to the whereabouts of the helo tail that was taken by Pakistan.